Technical Field
The present invention relates to a novel liquid seasoning and a method for producing the novel liquid seasoning.
Technical Background
Malted rice (kome-koji) is used as a traditional raw material that produces complicated, preferable flavor for the production of alcoholic drinks, such as sake, shochu, and sweet sake (mirin), and for the production of brewing seasonings. The sweet sake is known as a seasoning whose main raw material is malted rice, and the sweet sake is used as seasoning that adds strong sweetness.
Recently, salted rice malt (shio-koji) is attracting attention. The salted rice malt is a seasoning in which malted rice, salt and water are mixed, fermented, and matured. The taste of the salted rice malt is complex taste in which umami, sweetness, and saltiness are mixed with good balance. The salted rice malt is referred to as all-purpose seasoning. In addition, the salted rice malt contains enzymes. It is said that using the salted rice malt for pickling foods, such as vegetable, meat and fish, brings out the taste of the foods. Japanese Patent No. 5039964 (patent document 1) discloses powder-type salted rice malt that is obtained by drying and crushing salted rice malt.
Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2004-267057 (patent document 2) discloses a seasoning having a meat-quality improving effect, characterized in that moromi mixed with cereal koji prepared by using raw materials whose total nitrogen is adjusted to 3.0 weight % or more and salt water is matured for 0.5 to 2.0 months at a low temperature, followed by solid-liquid separation. However, this document refers only to so called “soy sauce koji” that is koji made from soybeans and wheat, and the malted rice is excluded from the cereal koji. Further, the taste of this seasoning mainly comes from umami and saltiness, and is thought to have less sweetness.